Tiny Token Empires (PSN)

When I first watched the trailer for Tiny Token Empires I honestly did not know what to make of it. I noticed that it seemed to feature some sort of "RISK" style of gameplay, but that it also featured some puzzle gameplay similar to that of various PopCap games. Needless to say it had me intrigued enough to want to see what it was all about. After contacting the French developer (BiP Media), and discussing the usual review arrangement I immediately got started on trying to figure the game out, so that I could relay what I found to you guys. Unfortunately as it sometimes goes with reviews I found myself not only struggling to understand the game, but I also found it damn near impossible to put what I was seeing into words. I knew I had my work cut out for me, and there was no doubt in my mind I'd be spending more time than usual learning the ropes of "Tiny Token Empires".

Tiny Token Empires is an interesting hybrid game. It utilizes both puzzle game elements, and turned based gameplay to deliver what I consider to be a surprisingly solid experience. If you've played board games like "RISK", or even the latest XBLA release of "Skulls of the Shogun" you'll have a vague understanding of what the core gameplay is all about. The story behind this hysterically historical battle of the ages is a different beast all in itself though. It seems that for some reason a group of worldly leaders decided to get together, and try to come to a peaceful understanding through a board game. Among the leaders gathered were an Egyptian Pharaoh, a Roman general, some dude from Carthage, and a couple of other guys from other corners of the world (forgive me for not paying attention to details). As it usually goes with peace talks these leaders of men found themselves at war with one another again regardless of their efforts. This failed attempt at peace was mainly due to the fact that they believed someone in the group was cheating though. Of course this is where their conflict resolution ends, and where the wacky skirmish begins.


As I mentioned previously "Tiny Token Empires" is a mash-up of various gaming genres. At the heart of it (Campaign Mode) you'll find an interesting board game layout with a world map, and tokens that can be strategically placed for territory gain. The objective, or objectives in this game are mostly based around territory conquering, army recruiting, and civilization construction. Being the turn based strategy game that "Tiny Token Empires" is you must meet predetermined/listed objective requirements by taking turns with the computer/local opponent. The "Requirements" themselves can include anything from looting an area with a scout, finding a relic, conquering certain territories, or defeating an opponent's armies/capital. In order to do such feats you must first establish your own capital (buildings, defense, units), and dispatch your own armies that are recruited from your home base. This does take money, and in order to earn the cash to properly fund your war efforts you must conquer more territories, and build more upgradeable properties (Towns, Cities, Capitals) on the map. The more you build the more income you'll receive with each passing turn.

Each conflict you engage in whether it be in a Campaign playthrough, or in a local multiplayer game can be played straightforward, or haphazardly. Either way you must meet your goals by completing objectives, or by conquering your enemy through claimed territories. Speaking of goals it's about time that I discussed the puzzle aspect of this game. In "Tiny Token Heroes" you'll find that a lot of your "conflicts", or "objectives" are decided through various token matching puzzles. What makes these puzzles so unique is that every matched token has a purpose, and the purpose is to basically fill up the turn bars of each of your five fighting army members. In some puzzle types you'll even use the tiles for dealing damage to ships, or unlocking treasures.

In the center of each puzzle game screen you'll find a colorful, and quite large puzzle area that is adorned with various types of tiles. The colored tiles associated with the army skirmishes each correspond to a matching icon placed on each of your army member's character portraits. In turn these portraits are located to the side of the puzzle area. Beside each character portrait in an army duel are two bars that you will need to pay attention to as you play the tile matching game. There's a bar for the character's life (HP), and a bar that must be filled in order for that character to be able to attack. In order to fill up the attack/turn gauge you will need to match the corresponding color tiles that are on the character picture with the ones in the puzzle playing field. Matching tiles is done by simply matching up 3 of the same tile, but by matching more than 3 you will gain extra meter per corresponding charcter, or an area clearing bomb (match 5). In the case of the lock, and ship puzzles though matching either 3 anchors (ship duels), or a set number of lock tiles (treasures) is required.

The winner of the army skirmish based tile matching duel is ultimately decided by the player who destroys the other player's army members first. Keep in mind that you can only have up to 5 army members/characters per puzzle, so choosing which types of soldiers you wish to go with is definitely an important choice. When it comes down to the creation of your armies you will find that by adding buildings (shooting gallery, Miliatry Fort ...) to your cities, towns, and capitals you'll be able to recruit different types of characters. These recruited soldiers can range from simple scouts to mythological beasts. As you conquer land, and armies with your own armies your soldiers will rank up, and gain stars for their victories. Of course the characters with more stars will be your more valuable assets in the skirmish. I know I'm probably going to screw this up by trying to explain it, but army token movement also plays a huge role in your area coverage. You can divide up your armies, and disperse more army tokens across the map. This in turn will allow you to scout more territories, and conquer more areas than you could by simply using/moving a single army. You should also keep in mind this game is turn based, so dispersing your armies across the paling field is a better way of not only maintaining your own territories, but also moving about the map, and conquering other territories/armies as well.

Aside from the core campaign, and local skirmishes you will find that BiP Media has also included a puzzle only mode in which two local players can duel it out through puzzle based gameplay. The same rules apply as before, but instead of having to play the board game portion of "Tiny Token Empires" in order to gain income for funding your duels you simply set the player budget. In this mode you can also choose which type of army (Egyptian, Roman, Trojan, Carthage ...) you wish to play as. This will affect what types of characters you'll be able to use, and what sorts of mythological beasts are at your disposal. As with the campaign mode you can only have up to 5 characters under your control. You definitely need to keep in mind that the more powerful soldiers will cost more to recruit, and could end up limiting the size of your army if you do not manage your budget well. As of now there is only a local multiplayer mode, but BiP Media has informed me that they might include an online multiplayer mode if the game sells well enough.

Now onto my verdict ...

I know I didn't go over every tiny detail about this game with you, but I believe I did provide enough details for you to understand what it's about ...

To me "Tiny Token Empires" was a highly interesting escape from the norm. I found myself entranced in it's gameplay many times over. It's not often that I'll find a PSN game so engrossing that it keeps my undivided attention for a couple of hours at a time. Even with me only being able to play against an AI/CPU opponent I still had fun during my playthrough of the game. It was an overall pleasant experience, but I did find some flaws with the initial tutorial levels though. There was an overbearing amount of text to read through, and follow. By the time I was through following all of the tutorial's instructions I felt as if I needed to go back through it again just to gain a proper understanding. I felt hopelessly lost when the actual game began. Through trial, and error though I was able to figure out the game well enough to play it properly. For those of you trying to learn the game past the tutorial you will be glad to know there is a help option available. I had totally overlooked it though.

Another thing the developer brought to my attention was that the game was intended to be humorous. During my playthrough I found no real "LOL" moments, but I did notice the game's quirky dialogue, and wacky sound effects. Even without finding the game truly "humorous" to me I still enjoyed it thoroughly. The narrated comic book story panel at the beginning for example was one of the game's cooler features that I found to be interesting. It was well designed, and added flesh to the game's bones (so to speak). I think what stood out about the game most for me though was the fact that the integrated puzzle system fit in seamlessly with the turn-based strategy part of it. Nothing in this game seemed out of place. I think Bip Media has definitely designed a gaming hybrid that will suit a wide variety of gamers' interests. This game has my vote for sure. I think it's well worth the asking price ($9.99). I just hope it sells well enough for the developer to patch in an online multiplayer mode.